But some say it's unlikely "Silicon Island" will ever develop in a borough that lacks public transit and major interest from the tech community despite a push from Borough President James Oddo and business leaders who want to lure tech startups to the North Shore, particularly Stapleton and St. George.

"There is potential [for a tech hub], but the disadvantage is that we are not a subway ride or two away from Manhattan where the clients of all these startups would be," said Cesar Claro, president and CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation (SIEDC).

"The key has to be affordable space. The property owners of these vacant storefronts have to offer an affordable way to draw these guys in. That's the only way to do it," he added.

Some say a tech hub won't come to fruition unless Staten Island can re-brand itself as something other than a Manhattan bedroom community.

"Staten Island still has the bad karma of being the forgotten child of the city," said Great Kills resident Craig Caruso, owner of CarusoApps.

"The tech community on Staten Island is made up of people who work out of their homes, or they go to [Manhattan] to get their tech needs outside of the borough," he said.

NO COHESION

Lyle Foxman, founder of netLABnyc, a web design, social media and online marketing startup that operates out of NYC Arts Cypher in Stapleton, said the tech community on Staten Island is "underground" and lacks cohesion.

"We could have all the great spaces in the world, but if you don't have a community and culture to put in there, it will never happen," said Foxman, who is founder of Startup Staten Island, a tech meet-up group that he hopes will become the foundation for a tech hub in the borough.

"We are overshadowed by Manhattan, Hoboken and Jersey City," Caruso said. "Their tech hubs are growing so fast and we can't catch up. If we all work together as tech heads that's the only way we can make it happen."

He noted there's also a lot of competition among Island tech startups.

"There's a lot of animosity on Staten Island. Instead of having that animosity, maybe we should partner together," Caruso said. "Tech businesses here need to work together."

However, Foxman is hopeful that the new co-working space, LaunchPads, located at 60 Bay St., will draw some startups to the area.

"LaunchPads will bring people in from the tech industry. It will become a little community center for them," he said.

This week, LaunchPads will have a test phase, allowing 30 people to use the 2,000-square-foot space, said Kevin Lawrie, who is launching the co-working space.

"There is a peer support component that goes along with co-working ... I've gotten interest from people in Manhattan and Brooklyn. People are willing to brave the ferry to come to Staten Island for a job," said Lawrie, who owns Inbox 25, a cloud-based software company also located at 60 Bay St.

He thinks LaunchPads could be the start of the Island's tech boom.

"Big-banner tech companies are not going to come over and grab office space in Staten Island until you have some 'use cases' for other tech companies that have started here," he said. "Once you have those use cases, then that's when the tech industry will start. That's what I think the co-working space will do."

TECH HUB PUSH FROM BOROUGH HALL

Some say the North Shore has the potential to develop into a tech hub similar to Dumbo. In the early 2000s, the Brooklyn community had many similarities to the North Shore, including vacant commercial space at low rent prices and new industry in the pipeline.

"As I have said in the past, there are exciting things happening on the North Shore, including within the burgeoning tech sector," Oddo said. "Entrepreneurs are beginning to recognize how attractive our North Shore is and they want to be a part of it."

"Since we hosted the local tech community at a tech meetup at Borough Hall in May, the tech community on Staten Island has had additional meetups," he added. "New relationships are now being forged and contacts are being made, key components for upcoming tech scenes. This new co-working space is good news and will add to the momentum that is already growing and that I am committed to helping foster."

And there are some larger Staten Island and Manhattan-based tech companies quietly eyeing the borough, said Dean L. Balsamini, executive director of the Staten Island Small Business Development Center.

"The opportunities here are growing and Staten Island is definitely going to become another technology hub like Dumbo," Balsamini said.

The next Startup Staten Island meet up will be on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at LaunchPads.